Learning Is Fun?
by Halpert-fan
Summary: Haruhi needs a little extra money, so what better idea than to sell her intelligence and become a tutor? Conveniently, Tamaki just arrived in Japan, and still isn't fluent in the language. Kyouya tells him: find a tutor.
1. Chapter 1

**Note from the Author: **Yeah, it's short, but it's just a prologue, so what can one expect? And I know, I know, I already wrote a long Host Club fanfic, but I thought this one would be amusing. It takes place all the way back when Tamaki and Haruhi and all those little bundles of joy (with the exception of Mori and Hunny) weren't yet in high school. Just remember for your upcoming reading; Haruhismart. She got a scholarship to an intense, rich, whatever school, so she's gotta be, right? Oh well, like it even really matters...Anyway, yeah, you can assume this is kind of an "alternate universe" story, but everything's the same, just...different. I'm doing a horrible job at explaining this. Just read and enjoy! :)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"No," Kyouya said for what he hoped would be the last time, but knowing Tamaki, there was just no way…

"Please? I'm begging you…" Tamaki repeated slowly, being sure he said every word right. It had only been a few weeks since he had arrived in Japan and the last thing he wanted was to sound like an idiot in front of his best friend in the whole wide world. Especially when he _really_ needed someone to help him.

"No, I don't have time," Kyouya harshly finished, closing his notebook and standing up by his desk, "If you really need help with your Japanese, higher a tutor. That shouldn't be too difficult a task for you." Tamaki watched his friend leave the classroom, tired of the same words being said over and over again since the bell had rung almost half an hour ago.

Tamaki slumped over in his chair and pouted for a moment. His sudden move to France had happened too fast. It's not like he was ungrateful or anything- he wanted his mom to get better, and it was a privilege to be there with his father, even if he was only allowed in the second mansion. But despite all that, he wished he would have had a little more time to practice his language skills before coming. He knew enough to get by, but not nearly enough to say everything he wanted to say.

"_Mon dieu_," he sighed, tipping his head back to look at the ceiling. It would be months until he would become fluent. Tamaki knew he had to learn faster than that. This couldn't be a natural thing.

He stood up, packing up his school things in the process. Maybe Kyouya was right. Maybe he should just go find a tutor…as unappealing as that sounded. Not to mention somewhat degrading. Oh well…as long as his tutor wasn't evil and would keep the yelling to a minimum, Tamaki was sure it would turn out all right in the end.

* * *

Haruhi took in a deep breath. She held the few papers in her arms, worried out of no where her dad would show up and see what was printed on them.

He would be so furious if he found out…

Haruhi tossed her long brown hair out of the way of her face and back over her shoulder as she walked down the empty streets. She stopped at a street light and looked around before holding one of the papers around its cylindrical surface and taping it in place. Someone would find it…they just had to. She walked a few more blocks, her heart pounding a little harder.

_What if he just happened by this way and saw it?_ Haruhi thought in worry. There was no way her dad was even close to being off work, but she couldn't help but feel that guilt buried inside of her. She was so busy worrying, she hardly noticed a paper falling from her loose hold and gracefully tumbling to the ground. It skidded across the cement, before being gently blown away by a faint gust of wind.

Haruhi stopped at another light and taped the second flier up. This time she paused to read the words, wondering if it sounded good enough to be noticed.

Tutor!

High school and below

Available 4-8 all week

4.0 GPA Student

Will help with any subject

Issue of money to be discussed with tutor

In small print at the bottom was her phone number and home address. She sighed. It was a very unappealing poster, but if she could help at least one person, she was bound to make just a little extra money.

Her dad would never admit it, but they did need financial help. And Haruhi was only asking for enough to buy the groceries herself, so her dad could worry about paying for the apartment. Just until they had enough to really stand on their feet.

_Yeah…_ Haruhi assured herself, _It won't be for very long…_

A few blocks away, a rather bothered teenager was walking himself home, as unusual as it was for him. He was staring down at his feet when he noticed it- a piece of paper. Its corners were being lifted by no more than a centimeter by the almost non-existent breeze, but wouldn't turn over. He bent down to pick it up and turn it over. The words on the paper…

"_C'est…"_ he began, but he couldn't finish. He had found exactly what he had been looking for- all in one day.

It was too good to be true.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note from the Author:** So yeah, my french isn't all that great yet. I'm in a higher level french class but that does not mean I'm gonna get my French right every time, so if any of you readers speak the language and catch a mistake- please tell me about it! I could really use the help, and I don't want to feel like too much an idiot just leaving it there.

Well, here's the second chapter. Right now, the characters aren't one hundred percent themselves, but give me a little time to get into them...I promise I'll do better. I'm never all that great at keeping a character _in_ character at the very start, hehe...Aside from that, I hope you enjoy! I certainly enjoy writing it!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much you may want to.

* * *

Haruhi was anxiously watching the minutes tick by on the clock. Hoping someone would show up- just…not her dad. She wasn't sure if she could keep this secret, but she needed to try. She only wanted to help him, not make him mad. And besides, it was for her benefit as well. Haruhi could use a little extra money herself for the "essentials" she never really needed.

She had only been home ten or fifteen minutes, and she probably wouldn't receive a call for a few days, but still…Haruhi hoped and waited.

"I'm hungry…" she moaned quietly to herself, breaking the ringing silence throughout the apartment. A quarter after five, sure…why not make it dinner time? She had been busy walking around town for almost an hour anyway. Her dad would forgive her if she ate without him- it's not like it had ever mattered before.

Haruhi stood up from the table. Her knees felt a little awkward and sore standing straight. She must have been sitting like that too long for their tastes. On her way to the kitchen, she heard it. A knock.

Haruhi's head snapped to the front door, her hair flipping back over her shoulder. It was so obnoxious…why wouldn't it just stay in one place? Maybe she should get it cut soon…

The knock came again.

"Oh," she snapped out of her thoughts and came back to reality, "C-coming!" Haruhi rushed to the door, hurriedly organizing anything she felt out of place along the way.

She reached for the knob, and turned.

"Yes?" Haruhi asked sweetly, smiling brightly, and politely, to- hopefully- her new student. She was struck silent and went completely rigid the minute she took a good look at who was standing outside her door.

He was blonde with bright blue eyes. It was obvious he was foreign. Haruhi placed him for European. Her mind quickly scanned her mind for a place in Europe where the most beautiful men were born…The boy in front of her…

"_Bon soir, mademoiselle. Es-tu la preceptrice?_" he asked. Haruhi could say nothing, only this wasn't because of his looks. No, she had shaken herself from that. This was because of the way he was speaking French…

"U-um…I don't…I don't speak French," Haruhi told him plainly, feeling a little ridiculous she was preparing to be a tutor and had to tell someone she didn't know…If he was going to be her student, she felt a bit embarrassed.

"_Pardon._ I forgot completely myself," the boy corrected with a smile, "I'm here for a tutor? I saw the paper and I-" He never got time to finish his sentence.

"Yeah!" Haruhi exclaimed with excitement, "That's me! Please come in!" She moved to the side of the door and gestured with her hand for him to make himself at home. But instead of entering right away, the boy just threw out his arms and got a strange look on his face…

"_C'est vrai! Je trouve ma professeur! Tres bien! Tres magnifique!_" he began to cry. Haruhi didn't need to know what he was saying to know he was being way to overdramatic for the situation. Suddenly it didn't matter how beautiful he was- she wondered if it was really a good idea to let him inside.

"Don't speak French…" Haruhi reminded. Though to anyone else's ears, it probably sounded more like a demand. The boy laughed sheepishly and walked into the house without another word, his head hung.

"Well, first things first," Haruhi said, regaining her polite composure, "I'm Haruhi Fujioka. And you are?" She extended a hand which the boy took.

"Tamaki Suoh, humbly at your service," he introduced himself, sinking low as he simply held her hand rather than shaking it. Haruhi sighed and snapped her hand away from his before it became defiled or something. _No wonder this kid needs tutoring, _she thought bitterly. Her first impression of him had been completely shattered. But he was a student. Students meant money. That's all Haruhi asked for.

"And what are you having trouble with, Suoh-san?" Haruhi asked, remaining as sweet and appearing as un-phased as she could manage. The Tamaki kid seemed convinced, so her act did well enough for her. Tamaki looked at her like he hadn't understood the question. Haruhi, once again, felt a little stupid when she realized he probably _didn't_ understand the question.

"Tutoring…what, um…subject?" she said, not thinking her sentence out very well, but wanting to be sure French-boy had no trouble understanding this time. He flashed her a large innocent and genuine smile that made Haruhi's heart skip an unwilling beat.

"I need helping with my Japanese," he told her, "_Je ne parle pas bien._" He shrugged and released a small, breathy laugh. Haruhi assumed he must have said he sucked at speaking the language or something along those lines. Common sense told her the guess wasn't far off.

"No French, please," she begged, motioning for him to sit down at the table. Tamaki sat with the utmost excitement at the barely knee high table and examined it with childish joy. _It's like he's never seen a table before, _Haruhi laughed.

"This is so cool! You have a kotatsu! _C'est tres stupefiant_!" Tamaki awed over the table for a minute. Haruhi only cleared her throat to stop him when she realized she was smiling at his behavior.

"Oh right, uh, Japanese," Tamaki remembered, thinking the cough was a scolding for speaking French again, "Um…this is…a…a…ama-"

"Amazing?" Haruhi finished with a quick guess. Tamaki perked up and smiled at her again.

"Yeah, that's it!" he cheered, "Amazing!" Haruhi thought about how this was going to work out, as Tamaki repeated the word "amazing" over and over again to his own little tune. If the stupid things he did made her breath disappear, there was no way she would take in air while he was still in her house…


	3. Chapter 3

**Note from the Author: **Okay, so there's almost nothing in this chapter...and I know I got some of my french grammar wrong, but oh well. I couldn't think of anything else to end the chapter with, so it's done. I'm already in the process of writing chapter four, just because this was so short, but...you understand, right?

To anyone who has read my other Host Club fanfic, there's an old reference to one of the earlier chapters (chapter 4 or 5, I think?) in here. I just had to. :)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"_Alors_! _Elle est tres jolie_! _Je veux etudier pour un longtemps_!" Tamaki laughed to himself before slapping a hand to his head, "I mean…oh never mind." He knew he had to get out of the habit of speaking French. Haruhi had said that was the first step to becoming fluent in another language, though their first official lesson would be the next day.

He walked down the street with a smile plastered on his face, almost ripping away his features. Haruhi hadn't been the evil tutor Tamaki had imagined. Nothing could make him happier right then. Not only was he learning, but he had made a new friend. That made two, officially. It made him feel so sad that her house was so small- smaller than his bedroom, but he had resisted saying anything. He wasn't sure how to translate his sentence into Japanese anyway.

_Might as well try!_

"'_Petit_' _est_…'small.' '_Chambre_' _est_…um…'room'…Small room…" Tamaki mulled over the words carefully, to be sure he was saying them all correctly, " '_Cette une petite_ _chambre_' _est_…_est_…'This'…'This is a small room!'" Tamaki shoved his fist into his opposite palm in triumph. 'House' was the word he would have liked to use, but he wasn't sure if it was grammatically correct to use in the Japanese language. Though he didn't see why it wouldn't be…one can never be too careful. He would tell Haruhi of his wonderfully formed sentence at their lesson tomorrow. She would be so happy he was speaking Japanese!

"_Je suis con_-" Tamaki stopped his cheering and cleared his throat before starting again, "I am happy!" He made a peace sign to the air around him to celebrate his non-casual sentence. He owed it all to Haruhi…despite their not even beginning official "classes." Still…Haruhi was his best friend ever.

"Oh, that's right…" Tamaki remembered with that thought. He stopped walking and looked around at the empty streets. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Kyouya's number.

"Hello?"

"_Bon soir_, _mon ami_," Tamaki answered back, sounding as formal and proud as he could, which didn't help Kyouya's impression of him as a Frenchman, "I was…_rentre_…returning home when I was thought struck-"

"'Struck with the thought?'" Kyouya corrected with a sigh. Tamaki ignored him.

"I'm not knowing how to return," he finished awkwardly.

"'You don't know how to return,'" Kyouya patched up again, "So, you're lost then?"

"_Ouiea_," Tamaki sadly agreed, scanning his surroundings again. He couldn't even remember which way he had come. He listened to his friend moan on the other line.

"Where are you?" Kyouya asked with an exasperated sigh.

"Um…I'm, uh…I think that I see school…away…but the clock, yes I see…"

"It's a good thing I'm smarter than you," Kyouya mumbled almost inaudibly, "Wait right where you are for a few minutes. I'll be right there." The phone hung up and Tamaki felt a little relief. It was still kinda scary though.

Especially when the sky was going dark…

Tamaki sat down on the sidewalk and curled his knees to his chest, pouting at the scaryness of his situation. His fear began to shrink ever so slowly as he began to realize…

It was fun to sit like that in the dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note from the Author:** If you can't tell, the chapters have been pretty short so far. It might stay that way, but that would mean faster updates- which you didn't have recently due to my being absent from "the rest of the world" and a computer. But if I decide to start writing longer chapters, it may take a while for a chapter to be posted...oh well, I'm rambling thoughts to myself. I'll shut up now and let you read.

Oh! One more quick note. There's another reference in here from Never Saw You Coming. It's from chapter 1. So, again, if any of you have read that story, you'll recognize it, and if you haven't, then this is a pointless message.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Tamaki-san," Haruhi acknowledged with hardly any emotion whatsoever, "Come in." She leaned out the door, pushing her head past Tamaki to scan the streets for any sign of her dad. Tamaki stared at her, confused as to what she was doing, but wasn't able to analyze enough to find his answer before Haruhi pulled him into the house by his arm.

"Can I get you anything?" Haruhi asked with a smile, feeling her heart still racing at the secrecy of the meeting. Part of her kept telling her it was no big deal, but the side that was panicking overruled any contradicting thought. Tamaki's eyes were veiled in blankness…

"Would you like something to eat?" Haruhi rephrased with less enthusiasm.

"Oh!" Tamaki shouted in realization, "No, thank you." He waved his hand and smiled sweetly. "I am not having hunger." Haruhi eyed him funny, before realizing it wasn't very nice of a teacher to treat her student like an idiot.

"Okay, people will understand what you are saying when you phrase things like that, but it sounds more casual when you just say, 'I'm hungry,'" she pointed out. Tamaki's mouth moved slightly, mumbling to himself. He had a look of pure determination on his face. Haruhi jumped when he slapped his fist to his palm.

"Right!" he yelled in triumph at understanding what his tutor had said all on his own.

"So should we begin?" Haruhi suggested, slumping her shoulders. He acted as though he knew plenty of Japanese, and even talked fairly well enough- at least, enough to get by, but sometimes he really sounded like an idiot. How was she supposed to know what he had already learned and what he hadn't? Or if he was just faking it to pass the time or whatever?

_I bet he's a pervert,_ Haruhi mused, suppressing a laugh at her ridiculous thought. She went to go sit next to Tamaki, who had already taken his spot at the table.

"Yup!" he agreed with child-like excitement.

"Okay, why don't we start with emotions?" Haruhi thought. It seemed easy enough. Happy, sad…all that good stuff. It wouldn't be hard to teach him that.

"Happy!" Tamaki cheered. Haruhi stared at him in silence for a moment. Tamaki stared back.

"Do you already know them?" she asked, hoping for the best…which is exactly what she got.

"No. But I do know happy," Tamaki informed, flashing a bright smile in her direction.

"Good, then let's begin," Haruhi ordered, sounding too professional even for her tastes. She reached across the table through a stack of papers, searching for a blank sheet. She slid one out from near the middle and grabbed a red pen laying next to the stack. She started drawing circles randomly across the page, hoping the lack of order wouldn't hurt anything. In the first circle, she drew a frowny face. Pointing to it, she said, "Sad."

"Is he crying…?" Tamaki asked with concern, leaning closer to the picture. Haruhi hadn't realized her "detail" of tears around the eyes of the simplistic face.

"Yeah, because he's _sad_," she emphasized. Tamaki stared at it a while longer, leaving Haruhi to believe it was hopeless.

"_Triste?_" the foreigner said quietly to himself, "Sad." He smiled, moving away from the picture to sit up straight again. "Got it!" Haruhi thought it amusing he assumed he had the right answer without checking first, but he hadn't gotten it wrong, so no harm done.

"Right!" she congratulated, "Now this one…" Haruhi trailed off as she moved the pen quickly across the page again- inside the second circle.

"Confused," Haruhi said, pointing to the stressed look on the circle's face.

"Con…fused…?" Tamaki repeated, cocking his head to the side.

"Exactly! Right now, _you're_ confused," Haruhi told him, hoping it didn't sound as mean as she may have intended it to be.

"I…am? Is it bad that I am?" Tamaki asked in fear.

"No, not at all. You're just _confused_ because you don't know the word and I'm doing a sucky job of teaching it."

Tamaki wore the blank stare again.

"All right, let's just forget that one," Haruhi sighed and started drawing in the third circle, "How about…angry?" Tamaki inspected the circle. Haruhi had been sure to make the face obviously angry, with a furrowed brow and a little four-lined anger mark, just to be sure it wouldn't be as difficult as the word "confused."

"Ah! _Furieux_!" Tamaki declared, "So that's…angry?"

"Yup," Haruhi nodded. So she had taught him the easiest emotion words out there, big whoop. She wondered if it was even worth trying to teach the other ones…_Oh come on, Haruhi! Of course it is!_ she scolded herself while moving the pen to draw yet another expression. This one had a large smile and hearts for eyes.

"Love," she said, tapping the pen against the picture. Tamaki smiled as he examined the drawing. Haruhi wondered if he were trying not to laugh at the odd look of the little face.

"Is it similar to…_aimer_? _Ou amou-_" Tamaki began to ask.

"I don't speak French so I wouldn't know," Haruhi quickly interrupted. Tamaki's spirits dropped a little bit.

"S-sorry…" he mumbled, fiddling with his fingers. He waited a few half seconds before slowly pulling his knees up to his chest and pouting as he had the previous evening. Once again…he found it highly amusing.

"What are you doing…?" Haruhi asked instantly, suddenly completely lost.

"I'm…um…s-…sad," Tamaki hesitantly told her as he tried to remember the word he had just learned.

"Why?" Haruhi pushed, trying to get to the bottom of the strange pout.

"Um…I am not knowing," Tamaki said, losing his sad aura and resuming his sitting in a crossed legged position. Haruhi sighed and shook her head gently, hoping he wouldn't notice. He had to be the most ridiculous student she could have imagined, but then again, maybe not.

At least he wasn't some really mean jerk, like she had imagined her first student- and maybe only student -would be. Sometimes he just felt…over the top.

"Okay, well, let's move on," Haruhi ordered, "And as another tip, really think about what you're saying before you say it. If it sounds like a baby, who cares? You'll sound smarter than if you try to spout random nonsense."

Tamaki stared.

Haruhi sighed.

"That was too long and stuff, wasn't it?" she sighed, "Well never mind, let's just keep going…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Note from the Author:** Hooray for more chapters! I'm not going to say anything about it so I don't spoil anything, but I really wanted to write this chapter...you'll understand, I think, after you read it. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi never would have imagined she would be doing this, but she wanted to do her best. The two had decided on paying Haruhi 9 an hour for her to tutor Tamaki. At first, Tamaki had suggested fifty, but when Haruhi almost had a heart attack she told him, and herself, she'd rather have a pay similar to something she would earn if she had a part-time job. It seemed a little more fair and a little more motivating.

So here she was, putting the motivation she had asked for to the test, in the nearest book store, looking up French-Japanese dictionaries. After the first three lessons, Haruhi knew neither of them were going to get very far if Haruhi didn't know at least a bit of French. Tamaki knew a little Japanese and that was the only thing giving this tutoring even the slightest bit of hope, but it wouldn't be enough.

"Let's see…" Haruhi said quietly to herself, scanning her eyes over each book she ran her finger over, "One that's cheap, but will do the job…" Her eyes stopped on a fairly large dictionary colored red against the other white books. She reached out her hand to investigate but another got there first. Haruhi looked over, feeling rather twerked, to see who had taken the book she obviously had her eyes on.

She met two sets of empty gold eyes. Both boys had the same light brown hair and gave her an identical look. That look Haruhi hated…the one where it was so obvious they were looking down on her, it wasn't even funny.

"Excuse me, I-" she began politely, still keeping her voice firm so the two boys- probably twins -would know she was serious, even if it was just a book.

"You what? Were going to grab the book we saw first?" the boy holding the dictionary said, "How rude. We have it now, and you're so selfish as to think it belongs to you." Haruhi was taken aback by the words. And she thought _she_ was making a big deal out of it.

"Do we really need it, Hikaru?" the boy behind him said, "I'm sure we have the same one in our library. Maybe even a better one. Besides, who'd want something such an ugly girl was looking at anyway?" Haruhi felt the heat rising in her blood.

"Good point," the first agreed with a smirk, "If it is in our library, we better get rid of it. Now we know dirty little commoner girls like her have touched the same copy." He threw the book up in the air and Haruhi instinctively caught it as it came back down. She wanted to say something back to the two boys, but her mouth stayed shut. Something told her this wasn't just for their amusement. She wasn't sure what it was, but Haruhi could feel the torment just leaking off of them.

"Th-Thank you…" she stuttered and walked towards the check out counter. Right now, it didn't matter how much she was going to pay. Though they had tried to hide it, Haruhi knew they had intended to give her the book anyway.

"Come on, Kaoru, let's go," she heard the first boy order almost angrily but with a hint of sadness in his voice. She could feel their eyes on her as she made her way to the counter. It made her smile.

Haruhi didn't think she would ever see them again, but it was nice to do something to erase even a little of the pain she felt inside of them, even if it had only been a simple motion of gratitude towards what they were doing. She wondered what their life must be like…

_You're reading way to into this_, Haruhi's mind told her. She sighed, still holding her small smile. Maybe she was…but those boys…what were their names? She felt like she had seen them before…

Still deep in her arguing thoughts, Haruhi handed the cashier the book and stared off while he scanned it.

"All right, that will be 30.29, please," the cashier told her with a smile. Haruhi felt her soul crash to the floor. That was almost everything she had earned over two days. Maybe she should make her lessons longer. Or maybe she shouldn't be as motivated. Whatever the reason, it was bringing miserable tears to her eyes as she handed the cashier the money he asked for.

"Thank you," the employee said with a smile, pushing the book back over to Haruhi. She took it and nodded, unable to say anything, and left the store feeling extremely depressed by her efforts to teach an idiot.


	6. Chapter 6

**Note from the Author:** Okay, let me say this before you read, please. Writing Tamaki's poor grammar is one of the _funnest _things I have been able to do in my entire life of writing, haha. I don't know why, but it is just so much fun! Anyway, my ranting is over, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

When the knock came to the door, Haruhi felt so unbelievably ready, it can hardly be put into words. She had studied French until the earliest hours of the morning, even forgetting to study for her upcoming test. She figured as long as she spent the open hours of this evening preparing, she would be fine for tomorrow.

Haruhi jumped up from the table, closing the large and over-priced dictionary shut and sliding it across the surface all the way over the other end to the floor. She ran to the door, excited to test out her language skills and prove to her student that she could be a good teacher if she wanted to be.

"Hello, Haruhi-san!" Tamaki cheered, with one of his bows Haruhi was beginning to accept as a daily routine. Haruhi smiled and held up one finger to tell him to hold on a moment while she looked up at the sky to think about what she was going to say- so it sounded absolutely perfect.

"_Salut, _Tamaki!" she hesitantly responded, her confidence suddenly breaking, "_Est-ce que tu ca va_?" Tamaki smiled and bit his lip. _Uh-oh,_ Haruhi thought miserably, _I did something wrong…_

"You just say '_ca va_' for the friends," Tamaki corrected, "It is more sweeter. But yes, I am very well." Haruhi took her turn to smile back with a little laugh.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but there's no 'the' before friends, it's improper grammar," Haruhi began to explain, just knowing it would be too much for him to grasp all at once, "And to say 'more sweeter' is repeating yourself. What you should say is just 'sweeter' though I don't think that's the word you were looking for in the first place…" When she saw the quizzical stare of the French boy before her, Haruhi stopped talking and moved to the side. "Come on in," she offered with a sheepish laugh. Tamaki smiled and walked inside, heading straight for his usual spot at the table.

"You have been studying the…um, I mean, you have been studying _French_?" Tamaki asked, remembering to take out his typical "the." Haruhi almost wished he put it back. It was kinda…_Snap out of it, Haruhi,_ her mind sighed, whacking her back into reality.

"_Un peu?_" Haruhi asked, unsure if she had gotten the word right or not. Tamaki's face lit up.

"_Tres bien_," he congratulated with a small clap of his hands. Haruhi curtsied quickly and went to her seat next to him.

"_Merci, merci,_" Haruhi thanked with a nod of her head.

"You are welcome," Tamaki said, breaking the French off from the room and showing Haruhi he still knew Japanese- which she had already known…

"All right, down to business," Haruhi began in Japanese, her mood completely elated, "I thought we'd work on adjectives today." _Because I _really_ worked hard on those last night,_ she silently added.

"Okay," Tamaki agreed and leaned further over the table, excited to begin the next lesson.

"Right," Haruhi took in a deep breath to get her "teacher" back, "First off, _jeune_." Tamaki nodded so she must have gotten it right. "Young." Tamaki reached into his jacket pocket and scrambled around for…something. Haruhi didn't know what until it was revealed. He pulled out a small composition notebook and a pen. Opening to the first page he began to scribble down the French word and its Japanese equivalent. Haruhi smiled. It was almost flattering.

"Sorry," Tamaki apologized with a forced laugh, turning a little pink as he pulled the notebook in a little tighter, "I do not remember to memorize so nicely." Haruhi felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter a little bit at his ridiculous grammar. She almost didn't want to correct it.

"It's all right," Haruhi assured, containing her emotions as best she could, "Next one: _belle ou beau. _Beautiful." She waited for Tamaki to write before going on. His bright eyes stared intently at her as he waited patiently for her to give him the next word.

"_Vieux_. Old." Haruhi suddenly loved her decision to buy the large and over-priced dictionary. Things were going so smoothly. And if she kept practicing, they would only get better.

"_Petit._ Small." If things were going to be this easy, Haruhi would have no trouble with other students- if there were going to be any at all. If by the chance she did get more students, she had already tackled the hardest of them all. The rest would be a cinch.

"_Grand._ Big." _Good thing there's that pronunciation guide in the back of the book,_ Haruhi told herself, wondering if she were saying the words right. If she wasn't, Tamaki said nothing about it.

Haruhi could only go through twenty adjectives before her memory failed her, but she didn't want to pull out the dictionary. It would be indirectly suggesting Tamaki just go buy a dictionary instead of be tutored by her. Haruhi didn't want that. The fourth lesson, the fifth day, and she already liked having him over. She wondered if all teachers enjoyed their students this much.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, finishing the last adjective his tutor had given him, "Do we meet at tomorrow's similar time?"

"Yeah," Haruhi informed, "And I think we'll work on grammar…" _Or maybe we'll just wait until the very end to do that…_ Haruhi liked the butterfly feeling too much to let it go just then.

"So long as we have a lessons tomorrow, I am happy," Tamaki smiled. And the butterflies came back.

Haruhi realized, apparently, it didn't take much to make her blush. It felt almost pathetic when she thought about it.

But it felt kinda good, too.


	7. Chapter 7

**Note from the Author: **Am I already on chapter 7? I guess it makes sense it feels like it's going by fast...probably because it is, and it's relatively short. Okay, that aside, enjoy lucky number 7!

Oh! And thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far! You've all been very sweet! :) I was going to stop writing early on, but you guys have kept me writing! Thank you!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Kyouya asked rather harshly as Tamaki wrote in the notebook he used for his Japanese notes, occasionally scratching some area of his head with the back of his pen and groaning as he struggled to think.

"Haruhi-san asked that I write more than words but sentences for the practice of my language," Tamaki explained, still lost in frustration. Kyouya nodded.

"You said that all wrong," he pointed out when the silence had gone on long enough. Tamaki looked up at him with sad, pathetic eyes.

"I do?" he asked mournfully. Tamaki believed he had been getting better at arranging his grammar correctly, but, apparently, it wasn't so.

"I am supposed Haruhi-san will teach me tomorrow of the grammar, so nothing is wrong," Tamaki sighed, continuing to write out his sentences and complete his homework.

"You said that wrong, too," Kyouya said again. Tamaki stopped writing and let a dark shadow hang over his head for a few minutes.

"By the way," Kyouya went on curiously, "Who is Haruhi?" He almost spat the name- as though Tamaki were talking about some beloved turtle or puppy, or some pet of that nature, rather than a person.

"She is my teacher!" Tamaki cheered, releasing his depression entirely to smile brightly at his friend standing at the side of his desk, "She is teaching me to speak properly Japanese!"

"She must not be doing a very good job," Kyouya mumbled, leaving Tamaki sad again, "But it's good you found a tutor, I suppose. It would explain why you haven't been bothering me about it lately. Do you have a lesson today?"

"Yes," Tamaki said, resuming his writing, "In very soon. And I am not done or close! Haruhi-san is to be angry." He smiled at the use of the last word, being a more recently discovered part of his vocabulary.

"I'm sure she will be," Kyouya agreed nonchalantly. Tamaki wondered if he had really been listening, but wasn't sure how to phrase that question at all, so he said nothing and concentrated on writing again.

"Well, good luck. I'm going home," Kyouya told the blonde, still furiously writing at his desk in the middle of the empty classroom. He waved as he situated his books under his arm and walked out the door. Tamaki paid no attention.

He wanted to get his homework done for Haruhi.

* * *

"Tamaki, you're late," Haruhi said when she answered the door to see a panting Tamaki outside, "Where were you?"

"I was…in my classes when I…" Tamaki tried to search for some excuse he would be able to say but found nothing, "_Je suis desole_…"

"It's okay, no need to apologize," Haruhi assured, feeling satisfied she could understand, "It just means our lesson will have to be a little shorter, okay?" Tamaki nodded and let himself in instead of waiting for Haruhi's say. Haruhi didn't mind. She had become just as comfortable as he had.

"Did you do your homework?" Haruhi asked. Tamaki looked at her quizzically, but with regret in his face. At first she thought he hadn't done it and sighed, but when he shrugged, she realized he must have forgotten the word.

"_Devoirs,_" Haruhi told him and he slapped his head lightly.

"Of course…" he said confidently, "Yes, I finished my homework." He lifted up the notebook with a smile that Haruhi returned.

"And lovely sentence construction," she congratulated, taking the notebook and skimming through the first few pages to find the assignment she had given him of writing two sentences for each of the words she had given him the day before.

"Hey…good work, Tamaki," Haruhi applauded, genuinely impressed, "Most of these are perfect. There's a few errors here and there, and a couple misplaced words, but you're really catching on. I guess it helps to hear the language spoken everyday."

"I do well?" Tamaki asked hopefully.

"_Tres bien_," Haruhi said sweetly, taking a stab at the French accent. Tamaki bit his lip again as he smiled, so Haruhi guessed she hadn't done very well, but at least she had tried, right?

"Does it sound that horrible?" Haruhi asked, wincing as she waited for the critique. Tamaki only looked at her strangely.

"My French. Is it bad?" Haruhi rephrased, keeping her tone of voice the same as the previous sentence to help him understand a little better.

"Oh no! It is very well!" Tamaki stumbled when he heard the newly formed sentence. He waved a nonchalant hand, but Haruhi could tell he was lying. She sighed and sat down at her usual spot.

"Whatever…Let's go over these mistakes first, kay?" Haruhi suggested, placing the notebook between the two. She leaned in a little closer to him, using the notebook as an excuse. _Great, and he smells good too,_ she thought in some sort of light complaint.

Tamaki scooted a little closer to her, too, and Haruhi only felt the thought get worse. She thought she might have blushed as well, but she couldn't tell.

"U-um, well, right h-here," she began to stutter, pointing to the third sentence in the notebook. Today was going to be difficult…Haruhi had a feeling it would only get worse.


	8. Chapter 8

**Note from the Author:** Woot! Longest chapter yet! Too bad it goes almost no where until the very end, hehehe. But I shan't give anything away. I'll just let your imaginations wander as you read the chapter. I hope it's still enjoyable and you haven't grown bored with reading this or anything...because I would feel horrible for wasting your time. But you obviously have made it this far, so...thanks!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi couldn't shake the feeling that something was out of place in the room. That something always needed rearranging, or dusting, or polishing with her hand- or a rag if it were conveniently close by. Everything just seemed wrong. Tamaki would be showing up any minute and she still couldn't get rid of the panic that her entire house was out of order. In all actuality, it looked better than ever, due to Haruhi's random moments of fixing up what was already fixed. After a final worrisome sigh, Haruhi heard the knock as if it were right on time.

The lessons had been going on for almost three weeks now. Haruhi had told Tamaki he could just let himself in by now, but he still went to the polite troubling of standing outside until allowed otherwise. Haruhi flipped her fingers gently through her hair, putting it neatly into place, took a deep breath, and went to the door. She was already smiling before her hand was even on the knob.

"Hey!" Tamaki greeted, wearing the same smile Haruhi was- so she didn't feel like _such_ an idiot. To Haruhi's disappointment, Tamaki was a fast learner. He had already caught on to the meaning of "casual" and his sentences were forming some kind of structure. She had to be to blame for that though…Haruhi had assigned homework only increasing in difficulty every day and had moved so quickly through the basics, they had already gone through the eight forms of verbs.

She regretted meeting his standards, but he needed it, so what was there to do?

"Hi," Haruhi said back, a little out of breath from all her frantic moving about, "You know you can just come in, right?"

"I know, it just feels so…" Tamaki trailed off, closing his eyes tightly as he struggled to remember. Haruhi opened her mouth to help him, but he held a hand up for her to stay silent.

"Feels so rude," he finished quickly and triumphantly. Haruhi smiled her approval.

"Well, it shouldn't," she retorted, "Now come on in." She instantly turned away and scanned the areas you could see one last time, though it was too late to do anything about any "mess" now.

"Homework?" Haruhi asked, turning her head gently around the corner into the kitchen.

"Yup," Tamaki said, following the routine. He put his notebook on the table and smiled with over confidence. "I feel good about this one." The recent work the two had been doing- reflexive verbs and conditional verb tense along with some exceptions to grammar rules -wasn't exactly Tamaki's strong point, and it showed in his assigned work, but that's what he had Haruhi for.

"Good, let's check it out then," Haruhi's eyes stopped wandering as she went to the table to focus on tutoring. She pulled the notebook closer to her and opened to about the halfway point where she found the last page with writing on it. Haruhi had to admit Tamaki's penmanship was definitely something the rest of the male population should strive for. It made her job a lot easier.

"Um, Tamaki?" Haruhi began to ask, re-reading the sentences over and over, to be sure they were exactly right, without any mistakes. She was also curious to the single repeating word- wondering if it were an accident or if, by some chance, it were purposeful. "Why are all these sentences about dogs?" Tamaki's face lit up.

"Because my dad bought me a dog!" he shouted with childlike joy, "I call her Antoinette! She's so beautiful! And fun, too! She is all that dogs should become."

"Be," Haruhi corrected without looking up. It had become so natural, even if Tamaki was improving. But whenever he tried something a little over the top, she got to throw in her piece and tell him what was right so he would, sadly, never say it like that again.

Haruhi really missed the horrible accent of his. Honestly, it had been one of her favorite parts about the lessons. And now it was slipping away into the occasional somewhat awkward sentence or a wrong word. Nothing that could make those butterflies go crazy. Oh well. Like they needed improper grammar to go crazy, they had everything else attached to him to fan girl over.

"That's cool," Haruhi said, trying to throw excitement in her voice through her concentration as she graded, "I always wanted a dog."

"Well, you'll have to come and see her on occasion," Tamaki suggested, looking far off into his own world of happiness. Haruhi just nodded until she realized what he had said. The pen involuntarily twisted over her fingers and collapsed on a spot on the table much further away from her than she would have liked.

"Y-yeah, s-sounds great," she agreed through a series of "loss of train of thoughts" and full-body trembling. Tamaki cheered.

"Kyouya won't come, so you would be the first to see my home," Tamaki informed with a sweet smile, "I didn't have many…_amis?_ in France…?" Haruhi waited for him to get the answer. She knew he could do it, though they hadn't really gone over the word very much. It was sort of something he had to learn officially on his own.

"Friends…that's the word, yes?" Tamaki asked, waiting intently for Haruhi's approval.

"Yup! You got it," Haruhi congratulated with a smile and slid the notebook between them, getting ready to begin part one of the lesson for that day. As was embedded into their self-made routine, both of them scooted towards the other to "see the notebook from a better angle." Tamaki moved a little too far and the two sat practically shoulder to shoulder. Haruhi took in a deep breath to regain her composure and turned every last ounce of her attention to the words Tamaki had written.

"All in all, you did pretty good, you just forgot to actually conjugate your verb sometimes," Haruhi told him, looking up at him, though his eyes were facing the paper, "And…um…" She looked down again- she couldn't think when she saw him. "Like right here, for example, you have a subject and an indirect object, everything you need, right? But you forgot to make the verb agree with what you're writing."

"Oh…" Tamaki laughed nervously, "It doesn't appear as though I'll ever get used to this, huh?" Haruhi made sure she didn't look at him. He was bound to be flashing his half-smile he seemed to love so much whenever he knew he messed up.

"No, you will," Haruhi assured, "I mean, you're speaking almost fluently, you just have trouble with putting your words in writing."

"Really?" Tamaki asked with excitement, "I'm better at my speaking?" Haruhi braved the storm…she looked directly into his eyes. Farther than she had wanted to at such an unstable moment in her life.

"A _lot_ better," she teased, "I haven't used French in…how long?"

"Five days," Tamaki quickly answered. When Haruhi gave him an odd look, he added with a shrug of his shoulders, "I've been counting. After all, it's something to appreciate, yes?" Haruhi only laughed once and got up to go into the kitchen.

"Okay, I'm starving, do you want anything to eat?" she called back.

"No, I'm all right," Tamaki told her, still sitting at the table. Haruhi had learned not to push things even as small as this or Tamaki would be flung into a dying puppy like state curled up into a ball and sitting in a corner. It had recently become one of his favorite things to do…it wasn't something she particularly enjoyed, especially when it took a long time to get him out of such a state.

Haruhi reached a hand out towards the fridge, getting ready to pull the door open and scan the inside for something quick to snack on until her dad got home, but she never got there. She was frozen. Gone rigid by the echoing sound on the door- which she heard much louder than it could have ever hoped to be.

A quick knock, and the sound of her dad's voice.


	9. Chapter 9

**Note from the Author: **In this chapter, you shall witness the impossible...which shall not be revealed. You'll just see it. And I regret, yet am pleased, to announce that as of next chapter, Tamaki will be, well, Tamaki. I least, I hope so. I don't know how well I can write his character, but I had nineteen chapters worth of previous experience, so I hope I have even just a faint _faint_ hope...Well, this younger, more awkward version of Tamaki has been fun, but now, he's smart and social...Ah how the days go by.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Haruhi!" she heard her father call over the sound of keys, "Why's the door locked?" Haruhi sprinted out of the kitchen, grabbed poor Tamaki by his shirt collar and tossed him into the closet.

"Stay there, be quiet, you're sneaking out," Haruhi ordered, running back towards the door before Tamaki could say anything.

"You can never be too careful," Haruhi answered her dad, who was walking through the door. Haruhi's panting didn't convince her dad locking him out had been for "safety."

"Well, you must be tired. You should get changed," Haruhi suggested sweetly, pushing her dad into his room.

"Really?" But I thought this was cute…" Ranka said, examining his feminine "uniform," but Haruhi had already slammed his door shut. She waited a few seconds before jumping back to the closet. The traumatized Tamaki opened his mouth to ask about the closet, and the rest of the situation, but Haruhi put a finger to her lips, followed by a motion of zipping her mouth shut, which Tamaki copied to show he heard every silent word. Haruhi motioned for him to follow as she tip-toed to the door.

About two-thirds of the way there, Haruhi decided she should call out a question or something, to make the air seem more casual. She was almost to the door when she turned around to be sure her voice carried.

"So is there a reas-ON!" her words trailed off into a cry of clumsiness. Tamaki hadn't been ready for Haruhi's turn and bumped into her rather harshly. Both lost there balance.

Haruhi's fall was stopped by the door, her head taking a good bump- as well as her back. Tamaki stopped himself before he crashed into her at the last second. A hand was next to either side of her head, placed on the door, keeping his weight away from her. A sharp tingle of pain ran up and down his arms from the force.

"Haruhi? You okay?" came the fatherly concern. But Haruhi was stupid. She forgot to answer.

Her heart was racing. Tamaki was so close. Both shared the same nervous, almost fearful expression, just waiting for the other to push them away, but they liked where they were. A little too much. Tamaki closed his eyes and Haruhi felt everything inside her explode. Still, she closed her eyes too. Tamaki inched closer, releasing the tension he had on his arms. Haruhi could feel his soft breath on her skin, relaxing her as she let him move in. He was so close…So close she could almost taste the kiss right then.

"A-_hem_!"

Both Tamaki's and Haruhi's eyes shot up and Tamaki instantly jumped away from Haruhi, staying close to the door. The two began to stutter helplessly as they tried to explain what was going on to an obviously angered Ranka.

"I-I…he-he….student, um…"

"W-we…I…_Je suis desole, monsieur. Je promis qu'elle est ma preceptrice…Elle n'est pas amie…_" Haruhi elbowed Tamaki instinctively.

"No French," she calmly ordered, wondering how stress levels could possibly go down at a time like this. Ranka payed no attention to his daughter and looked straight as Tamaki.

He smiled.

"Get out of my house," he commanded sweetly. Tamaki could feel the dark, fatherly aura piercing through the cheery exterior. He tried to say something, but only ended up speaking nonsense noises and pointing to the door

"I'll just go…" he finally said, giving in to his lack of words. Tamaki turned around and Haruhi quickly opened the door for him. Mouthing the word "bye," she closed the door. She took a deep breath before facing her dad, waiting until she was relaxed. She spun back around and tried to smile.

Ranka only started laughing. Loud. Haruhi could hardly remember a time when he had been so amused by anything.

"I really am just his tutor," Haruhi tried to explain over the laughter, "I'm teaching him Japanese…" Sure, that had been something Haruhi would have liked to keep secret, but it was better to explain the situation rather than leave it a mystery to her dad. Haruhi didn't really think it mattered in the end- he probably wasn't even listening with all the laughing he was doing.

"You two are cute together," Ranka sighed through the last of his laughing fit.

"You're not mad?" Haruhi asked, almost confused. She had been expecting something a little bit different to come out of her father.

"Haruhi, really, why would I be mad?" her dad scolded, "Just don't let me see that again." Haruhi smiled and sighed in relief before turning somewhat rigid.

"W-wait a minute," she stuttered, "What do you mean 'cute together?!'"


	10. Chapter 10

**Note from the Author: **Woot for more short chapters! For some reason, it just doesn't feel right for these chapters to be long, but that's just me. If any of you are bothered by it, I'm sorry. I update about two at a time, though, right? To make up for it? It was never meant to be a long story anyway...

Thanks again to all who have reviewed! You've been very kind! :) I feel so completely and utterly flattered...blush...Thank you!

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

Haruhi was having trouble concentrating as she put on the finishing touches to her next lesson in only a matter of moments. How was she supposed to concentrate? Sure, it had been two days, but two pathetic days? That's hardly any time at all. And her dad's teasing smiles and remarks didn't help in the least.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki's voice called, muffled from the other side of the door, "I'm coming in, okay?" Haruhi heard the door open and smiled. _Finally, _her thoughts sighed.

Haruhi turned around only to be thrown a little off guard. Tamaki's face was bursting with bright confidence. Haruhi had seen him so…so full of himself. She wondered if he was just having an exceptional day. He was in one of his bows again almost instantly, his hand extended, holding a rose out for Haruhi to take.

"For you, Haruhi-san," Tamaki offered with complete excitement. She took the flower, blushing against her will.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered, "Is there a particular reason?" Haruhi added the question in hopes of some ridiculous, fantasy-esque answer, but she only ended up sounding kind of stupid.

"Of course!" Tamaki declared, standing up straight and waving his arms dramatically, "Today, it has been exactly one month since we began our lessons. It needs to be celebrated!" Haruhi blinked. She hadn't even noticed. Had he been counting?

"Is it really?" she asked, "Well, you've really learned fast! You're not going to need me by next week." She tried to add a laugh but even just the idea was so depressing, it almost hurt.

"Haruhi-san, don't say that!" Tamaki scolded, "I'll always need you." He had just stopped. Haruhi felt her heart flutter around a moment.

"A-as a tutor…that is…" Tamaki ridiculously added, turning a light shade of pink. Haruhi smiled gently at the words she knew he didn't mean to add.

"It's okay," she softly assured, "I…I kinda…" She coughed and ran into the kitchen. "I'm going to find a place for this to live, okay?"

Haruhi frantically searched for the cupboards, setting the rose down on the counter, only thinking about what she was doing ten percent of the time. She felt herself and her motives completely disappear when Tamaki walked up behind her and gently grabbed her hand to turn her around to face him, but he didn't let go.

He slid his fingers over his hand and laced them with hers, locking their hands together. Haruhi's breathing sped up. She prayed Tamaki couldn't tell. His empty hand slowly and gently ran up her arm. He took the last step he could before actually running into Haruhi, closing all but an inch of space between the two. Haruhi's heart stopped short when his moving hand hit the skin of her neck. His touch was so soft, so soothing, Haruhi couldn't help but instinctively close her eyes and soak it in. The feeling was so much sweeter when it became the only thing in the world. Haruhi felt a light chill melt over her.

"Your dad's not going to break in, is he?" Tamaki joked in a whisper. He laid his forehead on Haruhi's as he smiled at the recent memory. Haruhi joined him with her own shaky smile. The sensation was almost out of control as she tightened her hold on his hand by the door of the cupboard. Tamaki brushed her hair from her face before returning it to her cheek.

"No," Haruhi breathed, following along with joke. She felt he head gently tipped upward by Tamaki's hand. She could feel his breath and hoped she was remembering she needed air too.

"Good," Tamaki finished quietly with satisfaction. Haruhi felt his lips brush against hers hesitantly. She was close to smiling at herself for taking the initiative to actually press her mouth to his, but refrained.

The butterflies in her stomach even refused to move, or even whisper, as their lips moved in perfect sync. The kiss tasted every bit as sweet as Haruhi had imagined, however gentle it was. Neither wanted to break free. They were locked in a world only belonging to them. Haruhi's dad could have walked in and they wouldn't have heard- or even cared.

Haruhi moved her arm up over Tamaki's shoulder. Their hands unlocked. Haruhi could still feel where his fingers had been as she wrapped her free hand around his neck to meet the other one. Haruhi felt Tamaki's hand disappear from her face to slide around her waist with his other hand, pulling her even closer. They let their emotions a little looser and the kiss became harder, yet still so soft.

In that moment, it had become unanimous between the two: this was the best lesson yet.


	11. Chapter 11

**Note from the Author:** I don't know if any of you have noticed, but in all of these chapters so far, really only one quick thing has happened in all of them. I hope that doesn't bother anyone. Cuz I know some people like to read about a lot of things at once, but I don't know- I guess I just like the "and here's what happened next" set up for this particular story. It makes it easier to write and gives me an excuse not to do any work in my classes. :)

Thanks again to all you reviewers out there! You've all been very kind! And you know what, forget just thanking the reviewers...thank you to everyone who's read to this point! I'm now past ten chapters, however quick they may be! You've all made me so happy by just reading up to this point! It means it's not boring! Hooray!!

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Ouran High School Host Club, or any of the characters, no matter how much I may want to.

* * *

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Haruhi asked as she entered the house to see Ranka walking into the kitchen looking like he had just got out of bed.

"I don't feel all that great," he shouted back to her, "So they told me to take a day off." Haruhi would have felt happy for him, but she couldn't help the empowering concern.

"Well, are you okay? Can I get you anything?" she worried, "Tamaki will be here in a few minutes, but I can cancel the lesson if-"

"Haruhi, _Haruhi_," Ranka interrupted, coming back out of the kitchen, "I wouldn't dream of it." He flashed his daughter a wink. Haruhi sighed in relief. She was so hungry, but refused to go in the kitchen when her dad was there due to her consistent unwilling blush sessions that would occur upon her entry, and she didn't want any more "daddy questions." But before Haruhi could get anything to eat, the knock came.

"I'll get it," she said quickly, running to the door. She smiled uncontrollably when she saw Tamaki on the other side, his face, in turn, lighting up at the sight of Haruhi.

"Haruhi-san!" he exclaimed as though he hadn't been expecting to see her there, "I practiced all night and even asked Kyouya for help until I could finally say it right! So, before we…" He trailed off.

"Go on?" Haruhi heard her dad press villainously. Tamaki stood horribly rigid, Haruhi thought he might break if he were to even be touched.

"N-nothing, father-san! I-its only…a few ph-phrases here and there…b-boring things…y-you wouldn't be interested in…O-oh! W-well, maybe you would. I really have no way of knowing…b-but, I would just a-assume…" Tamaki stumbled in horror, his eyes locked on the dangerous creature before him known as an overprotective father.

"Assume what?" Ranka kept going, finding his new found sport rather amusing. He hid a smile by taking a sip of the water he had just gotten for himself, turning his face to ice cold stone again.

"I'm sorry!" Tamaki yelled and fell into a formal Japanese bow, lacking his usual flamboyant European touch. Haruhi eyed her dad evilly.

"You seem just fine…" she mumbled. Ranka shrugged and forced a cough to sound a little sicker than he had let on before. Haruhi rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Tamaki.

"My dad's sick, so…" her words vanished as she thought of a back-up plan, "Actually, I think we'll take our lesson outside today. Is that okay, dad?"

"You mean…" Ranka began with suspense, "Like a date?" The cold aura he tried to release seemed to only hit Tamaki. Haruhi only sighed.

"Not at all," she corrected, "It's a professional lesson." She grabbed Tamaki's hand and pulled him out of his nervous formality and away from the door she was closing. "Come on, it'll be fun! You can take all your indoor practice to the outside world! Bye dad!" Haruhi thought she heard her dad say something back, but wasn't really listening as she realized she had grabbed Tamaki's hand of her own volition.

"We can call this your graduation lesson," Haruhi declared, looking up at Tamaki with a smile, "If you do well today, then you pass my class!" She couldn't help but laugh, though she found nothing amusing at all about Tamaki not coming to see her on a regular basis. The happiness inside her of simply spending the day with Tamaki somewhere other than her cramped living room must have been that overwhelming. And what's more, she was holding his hand as they walked down the empty streets. The day had already become one hundred percent perfect.

"So what was it you were practicing?" Haruhi asked, "I want to hear it! I mean, it's not like I don't know you're already amazing at speaking Japanese, but all the same…" Tamaki suddenly turned a light shade of pink.

"Oh, um…" he began hesitantly, "Well, I…"

"Oh come on," Haruhi lightly pushed, "You were so ready to tell me earlier, why not now? Was it my dad?" Her tone of voice turned annoyed. "He doesn't really hate you, you know. You should see-"

"N-no! It's not that!" Tamaki quickly cut in, waving his free hand to stop Haruhi before she got carried away with excuses she didn't need, "I just…" He sighed.

"Just what?" Haruhi pushed again, anxious to hear now. Tamaki kept his eyes away from hers and pulled her over to an abandoned street corner surrounded by other apartment buildings and small houses. Haruhi felt her cheeks burn as she ran through all the possibilities of why he would want to stop to tell her what he had learned, all of them seeming much too ridiculous to ever be true.

"Haruhi-san," Tamaki started as though he were about to recite some difficult poem or something, "You…You are the most…beautiful girl I have ever met." Haruhi felt like fainting just hearing those words. The rest was too much for her to handle at all. "Every minute I spend with you…I…I can hardly catch my breath." He held her hand tighter and put his other hand on her shoulder to pull her gently closer to him. "The…the days I've spent with you…I'll never…never be happier…" Haruhi couldn't explain how she was still breathing. "Haruhi-san…I'm…I'm in love with you."

Haruhi exploded.

Everything inside of her burst into a massive whirlwind. She couldn't keep track of anything, let alone even a momentary train of thought, and it twisted and turned inside of her. The butterflies came back, fluttering around everywhere, bouncing wherever they pleased. Haruhi didn't think she was alive anymore. She must have died.

She was in a complete heaven she would never escape from.

"Y-you say you practiced all night?" Haruhi tried to ask with confidence, but her voice was too shaky. Tamaki nodded nervously.

"Idiot," Haruhi scolded and Tamaki flinched, "You couldn't even get my name right. It's Haruhi. _Just_ Haruhi." Tamaki smiled in inexplicable relief and gave Haruhi the sweetest, and quickest, kiss of her life. Though it was only the second…

Haruhi smiled back at him when they pulled away.

"Idiot or not," she shrugged, "I suppose I love you too."


End file.
